Improvement in toy cannons



J. COUCH.

"Toy Cannon.

Patented May 1, 186G v WziZrr/e/a s e 5 NITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

J. O. COUCH, OF MIDDLEFIELD, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY CANNONS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J. O. COUCH, of Middle-' field, in thecounty of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Cannons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is a rear view of a cannon constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same with one wheel removed.

Similar letters of referenceindicate corre-- sponding parts in both figures.

My invention consists in making thebarrel,

the axle-tree, axles, and the body and trailsof the carriage of atoy cannon of asingle casting, requiring only a pair of wheels to complete the carriage,and so making a mounted cannon of very cheap construction.

It also consists in the attachment of a hammer to the axle-tree or other portion of the carriage of a toy cannon for the purpose of firing it by a percussion-priming, and thereby obviating the danger so often arising among boys by the use of powder with fire. And it further consists of a certain mode of applying a single spring in combination with the harm mer to serve the two purposes of cooking it and giving the blow.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the barrel, B is the axle-tree, and C C are the sides of the carriage, terminating in the form of trails D D, like those of an ordinary gun-carriage, all made of a single casting, the axle-tree being elevated in the middle to raise the cannon high enough above the wheels E E, and being united with the barrel atsuch a distance from its breech that the weight of the part of the barrel in front of it will be more than counterbalanced by the weight of the breech and rear portion of the carriage when the axles a a rest in the hubs of the wheels E E, in which condition the cannon may have its muzzle depressed or elevated to take aim by raising or lowering the trails, the axles working as trunnions in the hubs of the wheels,

F is the hammer, attached by a screw-pivot,-

some distance below the pivot b, as shown at e,

and fitted atits lower extremity with an antifriction roller, f, which bears upon the face of the spring G, which serves both as a main and a cocking spring, and which is secured to the axle or other part of the carriage, and it (the hammer) is extended some distance above the face 0, and provided atits upper extremity with an eye, 9, to enable a string, h, ofsuitable length to be attachedfor the purpose of firing. Tocock the hammer, its upper part is drawn away from the cannon till the up ward pressure of the spring against the roller either holds it stationary,as shown in Fig. 1 in black outlines, by friction, or forces it outward against one of the wheels or against a fixed stop provided for the purpose. To fire it, the string h is pulled with a sudden jerk to draw its head toward the nipple, thus moving the roller outward away from the cannon, and as soon as the roller passes the line of the direct pressure of the spring toward the center of the pivot b, the spring throws it outward suddenly, and so causes' the face to be driven toward the nipple forcibly enough to explode the cap thereon.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Making the barrel, the axle-tree, axles, body and trails of the cannon of a single casting, substantially as herein described.

The attachment of the hammer to the axle-tree or other part of the body of the carriage, substantially as herein specified.

8. The spring G, attached to the axle-tree or other portion of the body of the carriage, and operating in combination with the downward extension of the hammer, both as a main and cooking spring, substantially as herein set forth.

J. O. COUCH.

, W'itnesses:

W. S. CAMP, JONATHAN BARNES. 

